There is great interest in the cosmetic industry to develop products containing natural plant-derived materials that may be applied topically to the skin to provide anti-acne, anti-oil, and anti-cellulite benefits. Plant-based cosmetic products that enhance the appearance of skin are increasingly in demand. Active ingredients or components with skin care benefits can be obtained from either the entire plant or various parts of a plant, such as seeds, needles, leaves, roots, bark, cones, stems, rhizomes, callus cells, protoplasts, organs and organ systems, and meristems, either as dried powders or liquid extracts, which can then be incorporated into topical compositions.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (hereinafter “TCM”) has been in existence for several thousands of years and is based largely on accumulated human experience in using naturally occurring plant and animal extracts to treat various diseases. In recently years, TCM practices have gained significant recognition by the Western world, especially for treatment of chronic pathological conditions. Certain TCM ingredients have been known to have skin care benefits for thousands of years, and cosmetic or skin care products containing such TCM ingredients are becoming more popular. Because the TCM ingredients are all natural, they are significantly more appealing to customers who are conscious of the side effects and adverse environmental impacts of synthetic compounds.
However, it is important to note that the basic principles of TCM are quite different from that of the western medicinal sciences. For example, TCM believes that an internal physiological balance has to be maintained for a person to be healthy, and all diseases are caused by one or more types of imbalances, and each type of imbalances manifests through an identifiable pattern of symptom and requires a particular set of treatments for correction. A TCM practitioner typically uses a compound prescription containing a blend of multiple herbal ingredients to treat various symptoms of a disease after careful examination of an individual patient, and such prescription is specifically designed for the patient to re-establish the internal physiological balance of such patient. In other words, the TCM practice takes an individualized treatment approach, instead of a “one-size-fits-all” treatment approach.
Unfortunately, the currently available skin care products containing naturally occurring TCM ingredients are mass-marketed to all consumers and fail to implement the individualized treatment approach of TCM. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide new cosmetic and skin care products containing TCM ingredients that adopt the individualized treatment approach of TCM in improving the appearance and skin condition of specific users.
Further, a problem commonly encountered when formulating TCM ingredients into cosmetic or skin care products is the distinctive color and undesirable odor associated with many TCM ingredients, which makes it difficult to form aesthically and olfactorily acceptable cosmetic or skin care compositions containing such TCM ingredients. It would also be desirable to process TCM ingredients by reducing the color and odor so that they can be readily formulated into aesthically and olfactorily acceptable cosmetic or skin care compositions.